Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Oh goodness

So I had my very first allergy shot today.

I've always had pretty severe allergies. But last year was the first time in all of my 22 years I had seen an allergist. For a year, she decided allergy shots were probably not the best idea for me, because I have such severe reactions.

Earlier in the month, she decided it may be beneficial for me to start allergy shots. She was thinking if we started my dilution in a 1:1,000,000 ratio, it wouldn't bother me as bad. So I agreed. It sounded like with those numbers, surely I would be okay.

The past few weeks, no minute I spend outside goes unpunished. Even if I only spend ten minutes outside, when I get inside I will have hives and congestion. When I told the nurses this last week, she said I needed to start my shots soon because they would help with this. So yesterday, I went to the park with my husband, sisters, niece, and nephew. It may have been a pretty day to take pictures, but it wasn't a pretty day for me and my oh so active allergies. So this morning, I woke up with a super bad sinus headache. I remembered what the nurse had said about the shots, so I decided today would be a good day for my first shot.

Ha.

Before she even picks up the needle, I ask the nurse if I will have a reaction (because of how sensitive my allergies seem these days). She reassures me it is almost all water in this injection, and since I have been taking plenty of allergy medicine, I will be fine. Plus, after every shot, every patient must stay for twenty minutes before leaving. So as I walk back to my chair, I remind myself, " Mind over matter. Mind over matter. Mind over matter."

After fifteen minutes of hacking, congestion building up, tight chest and the now present numbness, I decide to tell the nurse things don't seem normal. After an Alavert, Singulair, Epi, and a breathing treatment, I'm laying on the patient table trying not scratch my hands off. My allergist soon comes down the hallway to look behind the curtain covering her most loyal patient, me. :)

She simply says, "I should have known."

Of course she should have. Why in the world would my body choose now to react to something like the average person's body? I must be crazy to think what helps other people with their allergies would help with my own.

NOTE TO SELF: Next time you expect your body to respond to treatment based on the response of an average human, simply look in the mirror. If a mirror is unavailable, remember the thickness of your medical chart.